Dark Mask
by BlackStarZX
Summary: Kaneki Ken was presumed dead, having tangled with the Shinigami of CCG. Everyone believed it; even Arima himself. Everyone, that is, except for Touka. And hasn't the ravenous Centipede proved himself a survivor before? Rated 'T' for blood, gore, and language. Eventual Tou/Ken.
1. Prologue

**So…ah…I'm a little bit shattered after reading the last chapter to **_**Tokyo Ghoul**_**, and I figured the best way to make myself feel better is to write the ending I think would be appropriate. It isn't long, but conveys all the emotions and possible thoughts that are going through everyone's heads.**

**Thank you to the artists of the picture. It's very well-done. **

**Yup. Enjoy. Sorry if the honorifics are off; it's my first time at adding them in.**

**[EDIT]: No longer a one-shot. More info at the bottom.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own **_**Tokyo Ghoul**_** or any of its components.**

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Prologue

It had been a very bad week for Kirishima Touka. The first part had been the fact that Anteiku, her favorite place in the world, had been raided by the CCG and half of her friends were dead. Probably more of them would be if-

No. She wouldn't think about that just yet.

The small-town coffee shop for humans and ghouls alike had been completely destroyed. Only parts of it remained standing, most of it in shambles with the CCG checking out each and every corner. Touka let herself smile a sadistic grin thinking of all "surprises" they would find there. Damn those CCG bastards, this was all their fault for this…grief, to put it lightly.

The second part had been when Yomo refused to take her back to find the others. Only after much complaining (and an emphasis on _schoolwork_) did he finally relent in taking her back. But just for school, he had said, just for school.

That led to the third problem. Yoriko was a relatively smart person; she knew Touka worked at Anteiku, and that Anteiku had been run by Ghouls. This led to a number of uncomfortable questions until Touka convinced her that if she _was_ a Ghoul, she would have been eaten a long time ago. This seemed to convince the budding chief enough. Maybe Touka had just been lucky not to be eaten. Maybe they were just being stupid. Who knows? They were Ghouls.

Then the last problem, and unarguably the most painful one. Kaneki Ken had yet to come back.

At first she had been beyond angry. How could he go out and play "hero" when all they were only Ghouls. Ghouls stayed in the dark. Ghouls were solitary monsters who ate human flesh in the underbelly of the human monsters. They did not _go out and play hero_.

The sudden ring of a bell roused Touka from her thoughts. On her desk was a piece of paper, hardly written on and random other doodles lining the edge. She sighed. Another period wasted. This was happening all week; she really needed to get out of this "slump", as Yoriko called it.

Leaving the classroom behind, Touka found herself sitting in the school cafeteria with Yoriko and a few other of her classmates. Calling them friends would be too much of a stretch, but classmates seemed good enough.

"…Touka-chan? Hello? Anybody home?"

Yet again, Touka found herself waking up from her daydreaming, to see the entire table (maybe about four, five people) staring at her. "You alright there, Touka-san? You weren't answering us," one of them asked.

Showing no signs of embarrassment, Touka replied "Just been a busy week."

Yoriko, the only person who had known she worked at Anteiku, gave her a sympathetic look before saying to the others "You guys know about that Anteiku café downtown?..."

Touka let her friend do all the explaining. She really wasn't in the mood.

_Damn_ Kaneki for being this selfish! Why was this getting to her so much?

No, Kaneki had been one of her best friends. They hadn't had any contact for six months, sure, but before that they had started getting along really well…

"C'mon Touka-chan, we're going for a walk." Yoriko got up, took Touka by the arm and started walking away, leaving the other very confused classmates behind. Looking back, however, Touka could see signs of pity and sympathy – Yoriko must've finished the story.

Touka _hated_ those looks. They only reminded her of Yomo, who she would eventually get back to only to see his ever-frowning _fucking_ face in the doorway. Yes, she put on a cold demeanor herself, but that didn't mean she didn't like other people giving it to her.

Maybe that's why Kaneki that had been-

Nope, nope, not thinking about that, already been there today, no need to go back. She needed to get over him, as weird as that sounded. Why was this Ghoul's death affecting her so much? Other people have died before, but Kaneki's death was the one that hit her so hard.

Why?

No time to think any further, though, Yoriko was talking to her. "…understand, Touka-chan."

She blinked a few times before realizing that Touka hadn't heard a word she just said. "Hey, you listening now?!"

Sighing, Touka nodded once.

"Hmph. Good. I don't know _what's_ up with you, Touka-chan, but lately you've had your head in the clouds! You didn't used to, so as you best friend I demand that you spill it." Yoriko crossed her arms in a defiant pose, glaring at Touka.

Touka looked away before saying "It's just the Antei-"

Yoriko fiercely shook her head. "You and I both know that's not true. That was a week ago, and nothing ever bothers you for more than a day or two. This is much bigger. So what's _really_ going on?"

Touka knew that she couldn't tell the truth. To tell her that she was, in fact, a _Ghoul_ would ruin her. Unless Yoriko, by some strange accident, discovered what was really going on and bizarrely accept her, Ghoul and all, she wasn't going to tell her _anythi-_

"Touka-chaaaaaan, is the ice queen having boy problems?"

Now _that_ was not expected. For once Touka really did fluster a bit. Could this really be considered a "boy problem"? Not in the way Yoriko was thinking, but…in a different way.

Deciding quickly how she should play this out, Touka looked sideways at Yoriko before saying "Maybe…in a way."

Yoriko was beside herself. "No way! I would never imagine…" She stopped yelling for a minute before saying "Is it that boy I once saw you with? You know, the scrawny, black-haired guy with an eyepatch?"

Still flustering a bit, Touka nodded.

"But…wasn't he a waiter at Anteiku? Just like you?" Yoriko gasped as she came to a conclusion. "He was a _Ghoul_, wasn't he!"

This time, Touka decided that she would stop there. She didn't need to tarnish Kaneki's reputation by telling the whole world he was a Ghoul. Instead…

"No, he wasn't. He just wasn't as lucky as me."

Yoriko got the meaning instantly. "So you're saying that the other Ghouls…" She didn't go on; she knew what had happened by now.

Touka shook her head. "I haven't seen him ever since the raid on Anteiku. He might've gotten away, like me, but at the same time, he might not have."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Touka-chan, I didn't…I had no idea." She looked up expectantly at Touka. "Was he…important to you?" Touka swore she saw the hint of a smirk on Yoriko's face, and was determined to wipe it off.

"In a way, yes. But not the way you're thinking of. He was a college student, about two years older than me. Really into books, almost…introverted with other people, really."

Touka decided right there and then that if it was too painful to talk about Kaneki in her head, might as well share it with someone off and ease the burden. It was working, too.

"C'mon, sit down." Yoriko gestured over to the bench, and they both gratefully sat down. The wind had picked up bit, and was starting to get a bit chilly.

"What was his name? I don't think you ever gave me one."

"His name was…well, is Kaneki Ken."

"Who knows? He may still be alive and you two can have a tearful reunion."

They talked for a good half hour, Yoriko asking questions about Kaneki that Touka hadn't even realized were true until asked. By then the sun had been hidden completely by the clouds, wind and clouds making it chilly even for a hot-blooded Ghoul like her.

But still, they kept talking.

Near the end Touka had told Yoriko almost everything about Kaneki – minus the Ghoul stuff. It felt great to give Kaneki a good word to someone else, but at the same time it hurt a bit in the heart. At one point Touka had started referring to him in the past tense, catching her mistake only when Yoriko pointed it out.

If she didn't have faith in Kaneki to return, no one would.

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The next day started off on a bittersweet note. Touka had gone home that night thinking of her talk with Yoriko, slightly exasperated after Yoriko had told Touka off for not telling Kaneki what he really meant to her. Now, there was a good chance she never would.

But _what_ Kaneki meant to her she still had no idea. Yoriko kept bugging her, but she never really found out.

At the same time, the sun had stayed in the clouds all night. This morning the chill had been present once again, dampening her still-rising spirits. Stupid clouds.

She tried not to focus on Kaneki that day. Would he forgive her if she failed her class just for thinking of him? Of course not.

After class ended, Touka had walked along the school, gazing into nowhere when Yoriko had found her.

"Touka-chan! Touka-chan! I've been looking for you!"

She looked at Yoriko curiously. There was no reason to find her right now; they had just eaten lunch together.

This also seemed oddly familiar, almost like déjà vu. Where had she seen this again…?

Yoriko was breathing heavily when she said "I nearly forgot! This morning…I was walking to school…and some guy stopped…me…"

As Yoriko caught her breath, Touka lost hers. Now she knew why this was all so familiar.

"He had this really white hair, looked almost completely natural, so I know this couldn't be your precious Kaneki-kun," Yoriko grinned as a rare flush of color came to Touka's cheeks, "but it seems that you still have quite a fan. He sent you this."

Touka looked down at the small item in Yoriko's hand.

"I know, not nearly as cute as the one Kaneki got you, but I guess in this case it's the thought that counts. He didn't say anything; just called my name in this semi-strangled voice, gave me this, roughly said 'Touka-chan', and limped away. Maybe he was embarrassed or something."

By now Touka had picked up the small charm and felt a stinging on her face, knowing that it had nothing to do with the blistering cold wind.

A small, spiraled centipede charm lay in her hand.

"I guess I would be, too, if I had black fingernails. I mean, what kind of guy paints his fingernails black?"

Yoriko looked up at Touka's face and asked, concerned, "Hey, Touka-chan, are you okay?"

Touka rubbed her face and said strongly "No. I'm not okay; the bastard likes to tease me it seems."

While the shrinking pain still lingered, not being able to see him in person, it was a far cry from the original pain.

_Shithead._ _Making me worry like that. Who does he think he is?_

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**[EDIT] I fixed the "-san" to "-chan". Also, instead of being a one-shot like I originally planned, I'm thinking of writing a full-on story instead of a one-shot. Should I? Or should I simply let this stay as it is? I'd appreciate the feedback, if nothing else.**

**Cheers.**


	2. Friends Like These

**I don't have much to say, other than to say "surprise!" to the people who favorite/followed this before the change. I'm making this into a story. Yup.**

**This is how **_**I**_** looked at the manga. If you don't like it, too bad, this is **_**my**_** story. But if I simply have my facts wrong (and I'll double-check to see if you're right) feel free to tell me.**

**If you old-timers think I should've kept it a one-shot, I'll separate the **_**Charms**_** story and **_**Dark Mask**_** into two separate things. But only if a majority say so.**

**That's it for now. Enjoy.**

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**Chapter One: Friends like These**

_One Week Ago…_

There was some foul _something_ in his mouth. He couldn't remember anything, either. All these different senses, the smell of blood and rotting flesh invading his senses. Don't get him wrong; half of it smelt like a royal feast.

But that didn't quite get rid of the taste in his mouth, which was far worse than anything he could think of. Like raw pig-hide, after the pig had gone rolling in some shit. Real tough and nasty.

Second thing he realized was that someone was _feeding_ it to him.

He knew this as a fact because he couldn't feel his arms. Or his legs. Or his moving jaws. The only thing that kept him aware of his disastrous state was the blindness in his left eye, and a severe headache.

There was also someone talking. He couldn't recognize the voice, but that was probably because it sounded so far away. Like coming out of a dream. Yeah, that's it. He must be dreaming. Never in his feverish mind would he think of getting into such a state. The only way to describe himself was _dead_. There was no other appropriate word.

But dreams don't have intensive headaches. Or the quiet murmur of a talking…person. He still couldn't tell who it was.

Slowly feeling began creeping its way up his legs. It started slowly, just a slight tingling, and then it came in a wave. He felt exhausted. Completely mown-down. He couldn't even twitch a toe.

When the feeling hit his arms, he became very aware of the slippery, sticky stuff that was apparently _everywhere_. His eyesight had yet to return, and what he could see was dark and blurry. Nothing distinguishable. But even the bright-red of blood would stand out.

More feeling. His arms suddenly felt extremely week, and if he thought about it he could feel the bone that was protruding out his elbow. Best not to think about that. It sickened him even more, especially when he focused on it. He could feel the bone _coming back together_. That was even worse than the feeling of skin and bone.

His eyesight was getting better. His right eye wasn't quite so blurry, and the left eye was gaining more vision. But still no distinguishable shapes. Only colors. Red was, obviously, everywhere. But there was also the odd splash of bright orange, even if he had no idea why.

He went to crack his knuckles – out of habit, mostly – but found that his hand wouldn't respond. Uh-oh. Not good. He let go of every other thing in his sight and focused solely on cracking his fingers. It was an addiction that he needed to please, a need that he had to fulfill…!

Suddenly feeling returned to his head, and the taste in his mouth got _worse_, if possible. There was also the unimaginable pain right behind his left eye socket, but he didn't want to think about it. Thinking hrt too much.

He stopped tasting the terrible meal. The mumbling voice got more urgent, but seemed to fade for a quick moment. Silence; now this was golden. If he would just fall back asleep, maybe he could forever stay in this wonderful place. It didn't look too bad. Just a little…plain.

And he didn't mind the over excessive darkness. White would just be weird, and any other color seemed to garish for his tastes. Black had this subtlety to it that he couldn't help but feel attracted to.

The voice got louder. Damn you, talking person, for interrupting my sleep. I'm trying to have a nice nap and you're here blabbing your mouth off. He could barely understand a thing, but then feeling returned to his brain, and he sat up.

He hadn't even realized he was lying on the ground. It had been very peaceful. But now he had broken through the surface, desperate to hear that voice which had somehow brought him to the waking world.

He wasn't going to thank the voice, oh no, that voice had it coming. It had disturbed his perfectly-comforting sleep, something that he hadn't had in a while.

The voice started up again; it had been silent for some time now, but now it was blabbering off, talking about some strange crap like "…thought you were dead…" and "…can't believe it worked…". He didn't know or care, but he wanted that person to shut up.

He turned his head (very slowly) around and came face-to-face with bright orange and yellow.

The orange had a strange face on it, very watery, like dew almost. But why was orange crying, it was only a color, colors didn't cry…

The voice started up again, and this time he was _positive_ it was the orange display in front of him. It sounded relieved, if color could have such an expression. "Bastard…almost died right here…glad I made it in time…"

Bastard? Says the bright-orange _thing_ that insisted on opening its far-too-big mouth every chance it could get. He forced his eyes to look the orange straight in the face and said (very slowly) "How am I the bastard? You're the one who woke me up…"

That simple comeback strangely made the other person burst into tears, but still didn't listen. Fucker…

Headache was back.

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**That's the shortest chapter yet, I know, but I want to make sure that you people know that this is going to be a series. Also, give me your opinion! Separate this story before it's too late, or keep it attached to the original one-shot for a base.**

**That's it for now. Like I said, this is Touka/Kaneki, no guy/guy here. This was just, you know, a really big moment for Hide, finding out hero alive – albeit slightly more dead. Oh, did you not guess it? Well tough luck.**

**Busy with school, so sorry if not posting often.**

**Cheers.**


	3. After

**Next chapter to **_**Dark Mask**_** finally up. Also, you'll see why it's named that probably later into the story. I swear, it will most definitely make sense. Unless, you know, my writing skills make it near-unbearable to read in the first place.**

**But let's hope all goes well in Kaneki town.**

**Also, jeez, I had no idea so many people would like this prompt. 80-plus follows/favorites? Thanks. I've been really busy and stuff, but I switched into some "easier" classes, and now will have a less pressing schedule. Hopefully this will let me write this story more.**

**Anyway, onto the story.**

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**Chapter Two: After**

It has been ten days since the attack on Anteiku. While news of the frontal CCG had spread rapidly through the wards, the actual realization that destruction was the fate of the warm coffee shop had yet to reach some people.

Kaneki was one of these people.

Currently, he was in Hide's apartment, having walked/dragged himself to safety. He was in no shape to be around and about, Hide had told him, but he had already done the one thing he felt he _needed_ to do, so he hadn't made any other plans to leave Hide's place.

At least _she_ knew. And at that point, she's all he really wanted to know. The more people that knew, the greater the chance of the wrong word said to the wrong person. And then, truly, his life would end.

Hide had told him, later on, that after giving Kaneki a chunk of his forearm (Kaneki now knew the cause of the sweet taste in his mouth, after passing out) he had booked it out of there, intent on getting as far as possible from the scene and relying on Kaneki's intelligence to get him out of the situation.

"But doesn't it even bother you, if just a little bit, knowing that your best friend is a Ghoul?" he had asked.

Hide had merely shaken his head. "While at first it shocked me a bit, I looked at the facts and realized that we had been together countless number of times, most in the presence of other Ghouls… Yet you didn't eat me. So you couldn't have been _completely_ heartless."

Hide shrugged and crossed his arms into a casual style behind his head. "Besides, I must taste pretty bad! I'm not a very sweet person, really!"

"In fact, you are pretty sweet-tasting. Your arm was pretty tasty."

After thinking for a bit, Hide bit his lip and said "Let's move on."

"Agreed."

After finding Kaneki completely destroyed, a hole in his eye and body bloody, Hide had taken meat from the countless other bodies around them and force-fed them to Kaneki. After enough meat, his body had gradually repaired itself.

Right now Kaneki was completely full. Hide had stuffed _a lot_ of meat into him, and for the past three days Hide had discreetly gone down back to the sewers and moved some of the bodies back to his own apartment. Now all he had to do was hope no-one opened the closet.

On the fourth day of his recuperation, however, Kaneki knew it was time to get up and move again. Couldn't stay in one place for too long, and now that his face was known by Arima he would need to either leave the 20th ward for a good bit of time, or reveal himself to Uta and get a new mask.

His old mask…he had lost it after the Anteiku raid. A shame. That had been a very good mask, and it really fit his personality better than Uta was probably aware of.

But that was only one of the many top priorities he had in mind. First and foremost was to find a good place to practice in isolation.

Kaneki wanted to perfect his kakuja.

He concluded that if he had still been in possession of his original state of mind, he would have not engaged Arima in combat. Or, at least, not have had to retreat from the main battle in the first place. His lack of will nearly killed him, and he had a powerful ability he had yet to control.

The sewers were, of course, off limits. The CCG would be no doubt patrolling the labyrinth, determined to root out any wandering Ghouls in the immediate vicinity.

That left only one option – leave the 20th ward and train.

The problem with leaving was that a) he would still have to be wary of the CCG, but they were going to be a problem anywhere. B), he had no knowledge of the outer wards, other than the six-month trip he had taken with his original group. And c), his food supply would no doubt dwindle as he tried to perfect his kakuja to more 'controlling' standards.

He had already thought of a new alias, and now all he would need to do was stop by his old apartment for a certain item that he had previously forgotten. The only hard part would be to convince Hide that he was all set to go.

So another three days later, having just finished another meal, he had brought up the subject. At first, Hide had been very argumentative.

"It's only been thirteen days since you were near _killed_! _KILLED_! You're in no shape to be running around, idiot, and you know it!" he said.

Kaneki was not one to back down, though. "Yes, I know I owe you one, but you'll have your job at CCG starting back up any day now! You can't stay around the house all day, skipping school and helping me out."

He grabbed Hide on the shoulders and said, straight into his eyes. "I'm fine, idiot." He let go and looked out the window, eager to look away from Hide's accusing eyes. "While I admit that I have no idea when I'm getting back, and that I will continually be placing myself in harm's way, I think I've regained enough strength to take on anyone as long as they aren't S-Rank for ghouls, or 1st-class for investigators."

Hide was silent, and so it was a long time before Kaneki gathered the nerves to look back at his friend. "I'm going to leave right away, if you don't mind, and I'm bringing my…ah…food with me. I don't think you'll need it."

Kaneki got up from the bed and started to pack everything together. It was currently ten in the afternoon; his face was still too well-known by the CCG to go out in the streets for too long. Going out to notify Touka of his status had been risky, but needed to be done.

Backpack full of provisions, duffel bag containing the human meat, he set off. Hide hadn't even got up to say goodbye. They looked at each other and a silent message was sent. Kaneki locked the door behind him, and set off towards his house.

He got there in no time at all. With the recent (it was considered recent) raid on Anteiku, people tended to stay off the streets the later it was in the evening. Ghoul activity had decreased, sure, but the fact was that people were terrified to learn that the friendly neighborhood café was in actuality a ghoul hideout.

Once there, he stepped inside, stopped, and took a step back.

The whole place had been torn to shreds. Walls, paper, books, everything. The whole place looked like it had gone through the blender. What was worse was that, near the back of the room, small traces of blood could be found here-and-there. Not enough for someone to die, but enough for him to take notice.

The air was dark and gloomy. Still, quiet. Kaneki immediately got into a protective stance, weary of any impending attacks. Someone could still be here.

What really confused him was there _purpose_. Why did they do this? He didn't have anything of worth, except the thing he came for, but it held no worth to anyone but himself.

He creeped around the house, certain to check the corners and dark parts of the area. He breathed in, albeit slowly. The door to his room was closed. Muscles tense, he used one finger to pry it open.

The slow creak of the door pained his ears. No use of stealth anymore. Arms ready, Kaneki burst into the room, head on a swivel as he checked his surroundings. Sudden movement in his right eye caught his attention, and he swerved, hands put up into a protective stance in case of any impending attacks.

No force crashed into his arms. Lowering his arms, Kaneki saw what the movement was and relaxed. No enemy here. Yes, the room was completely shredded, but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary. The moon, through a window, had caused some moonlight to come in and make the polished surface of Jason's mask gleam brightly.

The day he had left Jason for dead, Kaneki had taken it as a sort of reminder. A reminder of what had changed, and how he could never come back.

Strangely, it was still completely intact. Maybe the aggressor had been internally fearful of the mask, and kept away from it. Kaneki didn't know, and honestly, he had other things to worry about.

Mask now in his possession, Kaneki left the house, locked it, and threw the key down the gutter.

Looking back at his old home for the last time, Kaneki slipped out into the waiting shadows. There was nothing for him here. If he stayed in this ward, Hide would be put at risk, and the CCG would un-doubtfully catch up to him at one point or another. He was an SS-ranked ghoul, they knew who he was.

Then again, so did the ghouls. A sadistic smile planted underneath the mask, knuckled cracked, Kaneki walked away from the 20th ward.

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It took him only thirty minutes to be recognized. He counted.

There he was, traveling the back alleys in an attempt to stay unnoticed, until his nose caught the whiff of four ghouls coming towards with a body in tow. And it was too late to turn back now; his mind had been preoccupied from the attack on his apartment.

They were all male. Each one of them had their kakugan's shining, blood dripping from their mouths. The one in the back, who looked solemn and beat-up, held the body. Nothing special. Just the defiled corpse of a middle-aged man.

Kaneki quickly tried to hide away in the shadows, but the ghoul in the front, which was obviously the leader, saw him and called out, "Don't hide little man! Come out and play with us!" His eyes held an evil gleam as he saw Kaneki turn his head…

All four of them stopped in their tracks, dropped the body, and ran.

_Because they feared the mask of Jason_.

Kaneki leaned his head back, looking towards the starless sky that was Tokyo. It had been nearly seven, eight months since Kaneki was taken prisoner. Not all that long ago, if he thought about it. Eight months since he became _this_…

He looked down at his body. He had dressed entirely in black, save for the mask. Hooded jacket, long black pants and dark shoes. Dressed for the night.

That's not all that was black. Even the tips of his fingers, which were deathly pale, were topped off with black fingernails.

His hands strayed to his wild hair, underneath the hood and mask. Stark white, as always. No longer the black-as-night color they used to be. He was an opposite to his old self.

But did that mean his old self was _gone_?

Before meeting Arima, he would've said 'of course'. But the battle, as most situations before death do, had forced him to reflect on his past, his body desperately looking for a way to survive. In doing so, Kaneki believed that his new subconscious found his old subconscious. Two completely different people, meeting in the mind of the same person.

Apart they held their own strengths, their own weaknesses, but together, they would become stronger.

Yes, Kaneki realized, it was Rize who molded the clay of this monster, but it was Jason who brought it to life.

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**This took me nearly a whole month to put into writing, so I deeply apologize for the wait! Wow…**

**Anyway, Tokyo Ghoul:re is out and kicking, so truths shall finally be revealed! Hooray! But until then, and we find out what **_**really **_**happened to Kaneki, we just have to keep on guessing.**

**Expect another update by the end of next week. That's my goal. Even though it's probably going to end up being by the end of next **_**month**_**. But it will be at least 5k. I **_promise_**.**

**Did anyone get the reference to another Tokyo Ghoul fanfiction story? It held a sad ending, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.**

**Cheers.**


	4. New Home

**Welcome back to Chapter Three of "Dark Mask". But before we begin I'd like to address three things. (Also, last chappy was crappy, I know…Just wanted to get that out of the way)**

**First off, my prompt.**

**As you may be thinking, and what I was told by a reviewer, is that this story is going into the 'hero goes out to train for a while and comes back master of everything'. No, this is **_**not**_** that kind of story. In fact, I kinda despise those prompts. They are so incredibly overused that by now, I'm completely tired of them.**

_**This**_** story will dictate almost his entire training sequence. Sure, a week skip here, a week skip there…but other than that, well…you'll see.**

**Second thing is that my updates are long in between because I'm a **_**terrrrrrible**_** procrastinator! I used to write these things during the night, but now I'm starting to value my sleep again, so that's a no-no.**

**Third thing is a forewarning to my romance skills.**

**I promised Kaneki/Touka shipping, and I fully intend to keep that promise. However, I'm not very comfortable around these kind of things yet (and I'm a high-school student…shame…) so the romance is going to start with some light fluff and hints rather than some full-on smooching.**

**Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, let me throw it out there. I also really, **_**really**_** hate it when writers make characters fall in love with each other when one says to the other, "I love you" and they have a smoochy time. Out of the blue. No development at all. Screw it, I hate it **_**period**_**.**

**Come on guys. Let me ease into this.**

**Onto the story!**

**Thought of the Day: **_Psyren _needs to be made an anime. Now. With a good studio. NOW.

**|\||/|**

**Chapter Three: New Home**

It took him two days to get there. Having to stay on foot for the most part, avoiding doves and ghouls all the while was a taxing thing to do. But finally he was here.

The 8th ward was definitely a smaller place. Kaneki briefly wondered why his small group had not stayed here longer. Yes, they had been on the way to the 11th ward for more information on Rize, but still, when he stopped to smell the air it was like a fresh burst of life.

That was pretty hard for a ghoul to feel.

The salty shores of this waterfront ward were quite the place. Long, fancy bridges, larger-than-life boats, and numerous places for the rich and wealthy to stay dotted the landscape of this prosperous ward.

He had chosen this ward for two reasons, each with its own pros and cons. It was a smaller ward, already mentioned, so that meant a more condensed and bolder ghoul population, which meant more food for Kaneki. At the same time, the CCG would be here proportionate to the amount of ghouls; that meant a good amount of doves would be populating the place.

Although populated, the ward was also known for being a bit lazy. Ghouls were not as ferocious here, and Kaneki had only heard a handful of rumors regarding ward 8's ghoul problems. It was a lazy place.

Kaneki also enjoyed the view. Maybe, if he could get Yomo, Touka, Hinami and the rest back together…

Stay focused Kaneki. Train first, real estate later.

After searching for some time, Kaneki had found the place he would call home until he had perfected his kakuja to a better standard.

The storehouse was a rather small place. About ten meters high, twenty-five meters across with lots of open space, it provided an open place to work in complete privacy. The fence surrounding it had once been wired to electrocute any intruders, but after watching a bird land on it safely he was convinced that it was old and powerless.

It wasn't so much for safety he stood back and waited; he more wanted to know if the people who used to run this place had _completely_ moved out. If the power was no longer working, that probably meant no one was currently using the place.

The best part about it was that he could still smell the ocean breeze, even when the large garage door was closed. When the door was open, his heightened senses would hear the rush of the ocean, sounds of birds flying around the docks, boats docking in and out for a day of trading.

Screw it, this was definitely his future home. If he lived long enough, that was. Ghouls tend not to live that long.

It took about four hours to clean up. While nothing serious, he wanted to make this place comfortable. And reinforced, to an extent. Although how he was going to do it, he was going to have to improvise.

After tidying up the area, meaning getting rid of the dust from the windows, opening the door to a rather large storage room (the storage had a window with a nice view of the dock, so that became his bedroom) and letting some fresh air into the place.

Once done cleaning with that, he set out into the ward to scavenge.

While his main reason for this was to find scraps of newspapers (as to keep any blood from staining the floor) and to find _something_ to reinforce the wall, he also wanted to go on a calming walk.

Late into the evening, Kaneki watched as the sun set below the horizon. Red and orange streaks flew through the sky, setting up a display he wouldn't see anywhere in the city.

It was times like these he wish he had someone with him.

…_Touka?..._

|\||/|

In the next few days that followed, loneliness became his greatest enemy.

While scavenging enough newspapers to spread across a wide area, he still had no idea as what to do about the walls. A controlled kakuja wouldn't be quite as destructive, but until he could control it, the area was going to get destroyed.

Yes, he could go somewhere else, but there was always the chance of being spotted.

Kaneki was never one for being alone, however. It got to him. Sure, he could hide it in front of his friends, but every normal person needed a bit of companionship.

Crushing this weakness, Kaneki sat cross-legged in the center of the garage and focused on his primary kagune. It had been a while since he stretched it…

Concentrating on his lower back, forcing pressure in imaginary muscles, Kaneki allowed the rc cells to flow. To come back into motion. Slowly but surely, like a giant spider unveiling itself from its slumber, the eight spindly arms stretched across the room in a glorious display of power and self-control.

Arima had definitely brought out his full potential. Eight arms was a feat Rize hadn't been able to do. If he remembered correctly, Rize only succeeded in using six arms…

Through a various amount of exercises, Kaneki was able to regain full mobility in all his limbs, and in doing so accidentally destroyed of the giant shipping containers that had been left in the room.

Cringing at the sound of metal on metal, Kaneki went over to clean it up when an idea hit him. He had about four more of these stacked in here; even more outside. All of it was completely abandoned. What if he could use the metal…?

Working quickly with his kagune active, Kaneki found that the metal containers could be pounded open into flat sheets of metal, and if he did a little tinkering, maybe he could create the perfect reinforcement for the walls…?

It took him another three, four hour to put up the metal and fasten it to the walls (breaking them open was as easy as making coffee), but the end result was more-or-less ok, considering his lackluster skills in home modeling.

Ok ok, Kaneki admit to himself, it's pretty pathetic. Eh, he was by himself. He honestly couldn't care less.

Crude but effective. Kaneki smiled. That will work for now. Maybe another time he could work on it some more, but right now it was late in the night, and he wanted to go to sleep. Even ghouls had to get their sleep.

_Day number four has already come and gone, and I still haven't worked on my kakuja. Tomorrow I'll eat a small snack before going to work…First step now is…_

|\||/|

Early the next day, Kaneki got up early so he could eat and concentrate on today's goals. He would need a way to stay under control, to stay completely under control of his kakuja.

First off, what was his main problem?

The kakuja was only half-formed, made from the excess rc cells in his body, enough to form his centipede armor for an extended period of time. However, to do so would mean abandoning all forms of thought and let his instincts take over.

That was the problem. He couldn't let his instincts take care of it. He needed to do this by himself. Because he could do it instinctively, that meant deep down his mind knew how to form the armor, but his conscious state didn't know how. When he abandoned his conscious state, instincts would take over and bam – new armor.

But how was one supposed to reach that far down into the metaphorical abyss that was his mind?

He spent most of the morning thinking on this question. Multiple idea passed, but after tossing some around or thinking extensively on the idea Kaneki would toss it out and think on another. This needed to be completely accurate; no loose corners.

First taking out his primary kagune, Kaneki imagined himself fighting Arima again…while he hadn't been using his kakuja against Arima, his use of it weakened his mental state beforehand. If he had been strong enough to have both his tactical mind and armor in his fight, things would be different.

That's what this was all about. Getting his mind mentally prepared for the kakuja. Half of Kaneki's fighting game was all about luring the enemy into a pattern, strategically placing and moving them about until you had that one opening where you could kill them without getting killed back.

Take that away, and Kaneki would be fighting like a reckless brute with no regard to his injuries.

However, this was easier said than done. After about three hours of thinking, Kaneki threw the nearest piece of metal at the wall ("Dammit, knocked a shelf over!") and yelled in frustration.

Not even Kaneki's intelligent mind could think up anything. Every turn was blank, a piece missing in the overall puzzle which was his kakuja. Instead, Kaneki got some sweats on and took a walk around the docks.

This was beginning to become a new way to unwind. He looked across the foggy docks; the sun had been hidden for a long time now. Kaneki guessed that the day he arrived was just a lucky one. That made it even sweeter when it did come…

Sitting down, he sat on the bench, gazing across the docks, taking in all the small details… The way the birds moved their wings when they flew… The way the workers would pick up their pace immediately if an overseer would walk around the corner… The way the boats came in, dropping anchor with a loud rattle shaking-

Anchor. That was what he needed. An anchor to help his mind stay in the thinking world while the rest of his body descended into the metaphorical darkness that was battle.

It was so entirely simple and cliché that for a full two minutes Kaneki burst out laughing at his own stupidity.

Calming himself, Kaneki ran back towards his hideout in full anticipation. The next step would be to find what his anchor was. He couldn't _literally_ use an anchor, and he didn't think this would be something he could acquire through material means.

Standing up, muscles tense, Kaneki prepared to create his kakuja armor…

…when he realized that he had never done it of his own accord.

Oops. Well. That would help.

Normally his kakuja would manifest in the heat of a tough battle, never because he thoroughly thought it out. It was more of a reflex reaction than anything else.

Here, however, in the safety of his own place, his kakuja didn't have near enough pressure to force his body into its centipede-like armor.

This was a major setback, as Kaneki didn't have the patience to think of any way to force on his kakuja into manifestation.

Sighing, Kaneki left the room dreading what he was about to do. For the survival of both him and his friends, this is what he would have to fall to.

Picking up his pace to a hard jog, Kaneki wandered the evening streets of the 8th ward. This ward was particularly laid-back, nearly more than that of the 20th, but ghouls would be present. They were everywhere, and this ward was no different.

Kaneki would have to leave no survivors in order to ensure no doves came crawling for the whereabouts of a second 'Jason'.

Slipping his mask on, Kaneki sought out through the streets and back alleys. This was going to cause him considerable pain.

After about two hours of searching the streets (along with some sightseeing), Kaneki find the whereabouts of a small ghoul gang. About nine ghouls, sharing the remains of a couple they had recently killed. Gruesome, and the gang hadn't been clean about their killing.

It made Kaneki sick to think that even ghouls would prey on such a target.

All of them had their eyes manifested, two glowing red orbs of hatred betraying their inner intentions as Kaneki drew closer. None of them recognized the mask. Guess they hadn't heard of Jason all the way in the 8th ward yet.

What caught them surprised, however, was the fact that Kaneki didn't want anything to do with them. He simply walked up and punched one of them on the face.

It took about five seconds for this to process through everyone's minds. Then all hell rained down.

They mobbed Kaneki in bunches, four of them with a meager bikaku, two koukaku users, two rinkaku's, and a single ukaku. Completely varied, and it seemed that Kaneki had the luck to punch their leader.

No matter. As Kaneki withstood the pain their fists brought upon him (it seemed they liked playing with their food before eating it), he let all feeling go.

His plan was to not let his rinkaku no matter the circumstance, as the greater danger he was in the better chance the kakuja would come out.

By now Kaneki no longer called it his kakuja. Instead, he called it _the_ Kakuja. It was a separate, parasitic being living in his body. He just needed to control it.

It symbolized al the power Kaneki could hold, all the strength and potential Kaneki could use if only he could tame the power. It was something completely else. It acted not on Kaneki's whim, but its own. Kaneki felt that the Kakuja deserved to be called a _thing_, not just as an object.

Eventually, a rinkaku user squat down and began taking out his three arms. Strong to an extent, but nothing special. Maybe a B-class ghoul, if he was stretching it.

When the liquid muscle came down on Kaneki's chest, the Kakuja reacted when it realized Kaneki was not going to save itself.

Kaneki could _feel _the rc cells covering his skin, as if Kaneki had doused himself in the blood of his enemies. It was…slightly euphoric.

Taking note of where the Kakuja started and where it seemed to be spreading first, Kaneki let go and let the Kakuja do all the work.

First the face. The Jason mask was bigger than the last one, so instead of going over the top it went around each side to form in the middle, contrasting the stark white of his mask against the dark red of the Kakuja's tone.

This time, instead of forcing his Kakuja out of its shell to face an incredibly powerful enemy, he had coaxed it out with a slight beating. When it came to rest on Kaneki's skin, analyzing the slightly frightened faces of the nine other ghouls, it smiled.

Piece of cake.

Kaneki watched, almost as a spectator, as the Kakuja instantly killed four ghouls with a sweep of its tails and used the bodies to bury another into the ground. Blood seeped even harder, and after a slightly drawn-out moan of agony, the bodies stopped struggling.

The remaining four tried to run, but the Kakuja refused to let any survivors free, and jumped over with astounding speed. With another sweep of its tails, the only sound echoing through the streets were those of the docks and the gentle drip of blood.

Kaneki watched as his body, under the control of the Kakuja, took two steps forward and fell flat on the ground.

The sharp pain on his face made him open his eyes, even though he hadn't remembered closing them.

So that's what he looked like with the Kakuja.

Absolutely terrifying…

However, the strain it put on his body had been enormous. Going over to the corpses, Kaneki quickly devoured the flesh from their skin until he was full and content. No need to waste food, even if it was ghoul flesh. He refused to eat a human.

Returning to the storehouse, Kaneki now knew the basic idea of where the Kakuja started. Because he was a rinkaku user, his rc cells started around the waist. That's where _his_ kakuja would start.

Kaneki concluded that, although his _mind_ knew that he was in no danger, the Kakuja hadn't known that. It was a defense mechanism, as Kaneki already figured out. Reflex. Like when someone goes to punch you and you blink.

The Kakuja, Kaneki decided, made him fight recklessly because it didn't have any pain receptors like an average human/ghoul would have. That's what made the armor parasitic. It harmed Kaneki's body with no cost to its own.

Survival at the fittest, Kaneki thought, is using someone else's body to kill everyone and not sustain injuries on your own body.

Kaneki would need to learn how to suppress the Kakuja, so that when he called upon it the armor wouldn't fight him for control. It would let itself be suppressed, and Kaneki had a feeling that once that happened his armor would fully manifest, into a full centipede carapace.

Again, sitting cross-legged, Kaneki sat in the middle of the garage. He concentrated on the rc cells flowing in his back. However, instead of using those access cells to create his kagune, he used them to bring out a thin layer of the liquid muscle across his skin.

However, it didn't _feel_ right. Opening his eyes, Kaneki sighed when he realized that he had simply made another rinkaku limb.

It wasn't hard because of the armor itself; more, the concept around a kakuja was giving him problems. It was not something a ghoul was given naturally.

Frustration increasing, Kaneki worked his mind thinking of a new idea. He wasn't focusing on his 'anchor' yet. He first needed to make the damn thing!

He sat there in the garage, thinking pondering, trying new concepts over and over again, until he realized that the sun was no longer up. The room was dark except for the small lamp he had installed in the corner, and the natural light of the moon filtering in through the windows.

At this point Kaneki was prepared to drill a hole in his head in an effort to physically dig through his brain.

Mentally exhausted from the day, Kaneki decided to give it up for the next day. He really needed some sleep…

…

Morning came fast. Eyes opened impossibly wide, Kaneki bolted out of his bed to the garage. Something occurred to him in his mid-conscious state late last night, when he was just barely awake, but now that he was fully awake Kaneki thought he actually might have a chance.

Sitting cross-legged in the middle of the garage, Kaneki focused on his muscles.

Why not? A kakuja would enhance your physical capabilities, so they had to come from somewhere. The muscles seemed like a good place to start, and because they were pretty much everywhere on the human (or ghoul) body, it wouldn't be hard to, per say, "flex" his rc cells to react into his centipede-like armor.

Straining his muscles, Kaneki focused on solely one thing, not wanting to get distracted. He would think of his anchor later. For now, his ability to even summon the kakuja came first.

Five minutes rolled by.

Then ten.

Then twenty.

At about thirty-seven minutes of pure concentration and flexing, Kaneki _felt_ the rc cells burst throughout his body and blossom through his skin into the Kakuja known as Centipede.

What happened next went by so fast Kaneki was sure that he had passed out. One second he felt his centipede mask forming, the next he was lying in the corner of the garage, surrounded by darkness.

Aggravated and incredibly confused, Kaneki surged the darkness away with all his strength, stumbling slightly when sunlight hit his eyes.

It was about noon. So he had been asleep for maybe…three hours? Four?

The storehouse, however, looked like it had been ravaged by a tornado. The metal plating Kaneki had fitted onto the walls were scattered in little pieces all around the place. Looking up, Kaneki realized that he had been sleeping in a fetal position, covered up in metal sheets, for three hours.

No wonder his body ached…

However, Kaneki allowed himself to force a smile when he thought of both the good news and bad news. Good news was that now he had an idea of how to form the Kakuja. That's a step in the right direction.

The _bad _news was that he still had no way to control it, and it seemed that the time it would take practicing this control was going to take lots of work.

Why couldn't his life ever be _easy_?

|\||/|

**I can't believe I actually cranked that out so fast! Holy crap, I'm awesome!**

**Even if it wasn't 5k words… Eh, I'm getting there. This chapter was slow because I'm describing Kaneki's training methods. When the plot finally gets snowballing, chapter length will continue to jump!**

**Bah…let me self-indulge myself for a bit…I'm in happy-land right now, don't spoil it.**

**When I say 'garage' or 'storehouse', think about those giant storehouses where people put fighter jets with those garage doors going all the way across the place, and windows going across the sides.**

**Or think of something of your own, I don't care.**

**I know the fight scene was weak, and that it was a stupid way of activating his kakuja, but deal with it; I'm just warming up! Besides, this was the only way I could think of; there shouldn't be any high-leveled enemies nearby, so the best the 8****th**** ward can give him is a small gang. Give it time. Kaneki will have his ass handed to him in a fight, albeit how badly it will be is for me to know and you to wait and see.**

**Some serious fighting will get going in about two-four chapters. I have it (semi) planned out, don't you guys worry. **

**Explaining the Kakuja was hard. **_**Tokyo Ghoul**_** never real gave us an answer, so I had to make one up myself. I hope I made it somewhat convincing; it took a lot of work to think of something so complex!**

**Also, what's this I hear about Touken Week?! Half the recent fictions have 'Touken Week' in the tags! First, what is it? And second, why the hell wasn't I involved? If you need a one-shot, I'll edit my first chapter a ton, make it fluffier, and submit it or something! Where's your manager, dammit!**

**Next update is not going to be NEARLY as fast. This was a special case because I wanted to make up for my last chapter.**

**Hope this was better. Constructive criticism always accepted. Flames (if any) will be ignored.**

**Cheers!**


	5. Kakuja

**Guess what? This story has over 100 follows/favorites. And is number four when it comes to most favorites AND follows on this site.**

**Nice. Good job guys.**

**Onto new topic.**

**Originally I had some crap written here about Haise "not being Kaneki until we see his kagune". Well, we saw it…and were very pleased at what we saw. And now Touka is in the picture, so that will be insane.**

**Sorry for not making it long D: Otherwise, enjoy.**

**Thought of the Chapter: **No story can have a good ending without sacrifice. Warning you guys now; this story is no different.

**Second Thought of the Chapter: **Don't you just hate those bad guys who smile throughout the whole battle, even when they lose? I just want to kill them.

**|\||/|**

**Chapter Four: Kakuja**

There was something profoundly wrong about the way Kaneki looked in the mirror. Although strong and lean, there was this predatory _glint _in his eyes that he would see every time he saw his face.

It was downright scary, if he was to be honest with himself. Only good thing was that his fingernails were starting to grow out. Goodbye black, hello…whatever color his fingernails were beforehand, he actually didn't remember.

Nevermind. Not a good thing that he can't remember his old fingernail color.

Kaneki remembered, back before any of this had happened, he had been a weak and skinny college student whose biggest concerns were passing school and maybe getting a girlfriend.

Pfft.

Past Kaneki was pathetic. Even if he was an intellectual fellow, past Kaneki was someone he would not want to be in this world. Current Kaneki, however, was a combination of both. Which was good. Better together, right?

It had been three weeks since Kaneki had found his current hideout, the storehouse in the 8th ward. Days of training, walking, soul-searching…all that good stuff. No rest for poor Kaneki-kun.

His kakuja was still, however, not perfected. Improved, yes, but not near the state of perfection he would've liked to have. He could call it whenever he wanted, and instead of falling unconscious in a half-awake state to let The Kakuja do its work, he would watch himself from afar.

Like a very gory dream.

However, his control for the damn thing was still in question. His "anchor" hadn't worked out so well (he had tried focusing on his humanity first), and since then any new ideas that would come to him simply did not work. It was like a key. He had a locked door, sitting right in front of him, but he didn't have a key!

There was only one thing left to do. He had to either find a new anchor, _or_ do a very risky action that he would not prefer to do. And frankly, he wasn't sure if it would work or not.

The problem was, he didn't want to spend too long training. Too much to do, Aogiri Tree still at large, plans still uncertain.

Kaneki didn't really care much for what the ghoul community did at large – he would leave the CCG to do that – but he cared that Aogiri would hurt and kill his friends. Yes, the CCG could get in the way (freaking Arima), and yes, they _did _take down Anteiku… But if he could start things right, he and his friends wouldn't need to worry about that anymore.

There was also that lingering thought in his head that someone had been in his room, not even touching his new mask. Whether it had been Touka (the preferred option), the CCG, Aogiri, whatever… It didn't mean anything good.

This meant that he would have to perform the rather _risky_ move he would've rather not have to do.

For the rest of the day until nightfall Kaneki prepared his training room. Reinforcing to the max, lots of newspapers to soak up any blood he might let loose, piling up some bodies in the corner to satisfy The Kakuja, etc. etc…

The moon came up, and Kaneki was ready to go.

Entering his little bubble into the back of his mind, the smell of blood and meat was enough to draw The Kakuja into its mental shell and out through Kaneki's skin. It came out fast enough, the larger-than-average pile of bodies drawing it in.

White hair, one empty eye in the center of his face, a long beak hanging down past his chin. The face was scary as always, and the half-formed centipede tail didn't help. His black combat suit was on as well, just for the heck of it. Might as well start wearing it again. Thanks, Shuu.

It was at this moment Kaneki tried talking to it.

Beforehand, Kaneki always thought as the Kakuja like a movie. He would sit back, relax his consciousness while the hardened rc cells would absorb all the damage and pretty much ravage the surroundings. He would feel it later, of course. This wasn't a method to avoid pain. It was actually an effort to keep a simple train of thought going while he let The Kakuja do all the work. That's why it took him three weeks to get to his point.

But recently, Kaneki started thinking of The Kakuja as a _person_, not a spectacle to marvel at. This wasn't the zoo, no little kids were here crying to their mommies so they can pet the "strange animal". Poor kids.

Focus, Kaneki. Focus.

Kaneki remembered something Banjou saying something about his mental state. Torture was not something Kaneki liked to think about. Hell, even if you weren't the one tortured, people don't like to think about it. It's not a very good pastime. But what if something inside him broke, unrepairable from the outside?

The Kakuja represents that mental break. Kaneki thought that if he could only come to terms with The Kakuja…maybe he would be healed, after so long of being broken.

On a side note, seeing Touka and Hinami wouldn't be so bad either.

While The Kakuja dashed across the room for meat, Kaneki formed one word in his mouth: "Kaneki!"

It felt very strange coming out, almost like yelling into the silence of a dark room. The fact that he was yelling out his own name wasn't very bothersome. But it almost seemed like The Kaukuja _ignored_ him.

Slightly peeved, Kaneki struggled to yell once more. "Kaneki!"

Yes, he was sure of it. The Kakuja completely ignored him, going right over to the meat and gorging itself on flesh. Nearly all the bodies were those of ghouls, so it shouldn't taste great at all, but apparently Kakuja wasn't picky.

"Hey, shithead! I'm talking to you!"

Touka really had influenced his way of talking. He would need to fix that later.

However, it seemed to work. Slowly, almost menacingly, The Kakuja turned its head to face Kaneki. "**Didn't think you had the stomach to talk to me.**"

Surprised by the guttural way of speaking, but quickly recovering, Kaneki answered, "You are me. Why should I be afraid of you?"

In a blink of an eye Kaneki was forced on the ground by the centipede tail of The Kakuja. _This shouldn't be possible_, Kaneki thought. _I'm not even fully conscious._

"**I don't know why it shouldn't be. Our mind is in two parts right now – you, and me. The only thing we have in common is that we both want to be in control.**"

Control?

"**What do I mean by that, you ask? You should know. We're the same thing.**"

"How can you read MY mind but I can't read yours? What _are_ you?"

"**Because **_**I**_** was formed from a part of **_**you**_**, not vice versa. And I am the reincarnation of our innermost potential, formed after we were brutally tortured by Jason. However, I am only half of you. Therefore, I am only half of your potential.**"

"Where's the other half?"

"**You have it. Not sure where, though, you're fucking weak.**"

Weak? That's not something Kaneki would use to describe himself. Especially not in _that_ kind of matter, like he had almost zero worth. "What makes you think-"

"**I don't think. Remember, I am not the brain. I am you.**"

This was too fucking ridiculous for Kaneki to handle. Using his rinkaku, Kaneki pushed The Kakuja away to gain space, surprised to feel resistance. He had expected the tentacles to go right through.

"Where the hell am I, then? I'm not even a substantial being right now, and _you _are! How could I even _touch _you? And vice versa!" Kaneki yelled.

Smiling gruesomely behind his mask, The Kakuja responded in a sadistic tone, "**Maybe we're both unconscious now, our body lying flat on the ground, this whole setting just a product of our imagination.**"

"Wha-"

The scene changed. It was now Jason's hobby room, a place Kaneki visited in his nightmares nearly every day for every week. The white tiles on the ground gleamed with blood, and soon the whole scene became tinged with red. It was never ending, never stopping…

"**Remember, Kaneki-kun? Our blood regenerates, so we could never die, could never stop the pain-**"

"What _are_ you?!"

"**Never even had the choice to commit suicide!"**

With the same speed it used earlier to catch Kaneki off-guard, The Kakuja launched itself at Kaneki, tail sharp and ready to behead Kaneki if he so allowed it.

Bending down to avoid the tail, Kaneki let loose his rinkaku in its total display of eight tentacles, preparing to fight with his own… "God damn consciousness. You realize, if you are truly me, that hurting each other will only end with our own death? Is death even possible?"

"**You know the answer to that. And since you do, you should also know that as the bestiality of our combined mind I couldn't really give a fuck.**"

"What do you want?"

"**The same thing as you. Control. Whoever wins this fight determines the mindset of this body.**"

"You're insane."

"**Ditto.**"

The Kakuja stood in place, letting the tail creep forward across the smooth tiles. Rinkaku at the ready, Kaneki used four to try and hold it down while using two more to propel him forward in the air. The final two tentacles came over his right shoulder, preparing to stab The Kakuja.

_I have no choice. How else can I subdue it?_

"**You can't.**"

Using the trapped tail as momentum, The Kakuja heaved and lifted himself towards Kaneki, shaking the ground and feet flying forward into Kaneki's guard.

Thinking fast, Kaneki prepared to use the two extra limbs used from propelling himself to trap The Kakuja when he heard, "**I can read your mind, y'know…**"

The Kakuja had grabbed hold of Kaneki's face, the combined weight sending them crashing into the ground. Yes, the pain was dull for a ghoul, but it as there. This was no game.

The Kakuja's tail had escaped, slicing off the ends of the four rinkaku limbs and flying straight for a hole into Kaneki's chest.

Kaneki flinched back his eyes instinctively and used the remaining four as a shield against the tail, the earth-rattling crash resounding in the endless expanse of black and white.

"**I'm toying with you. Remember Ayato? You are to me as he was to you. Don't make this any more embarrassing. Give in.**"

Kaneki grit his teeth, thinking hard. This was getting no-where.

"**Damn right.**"

"Shut up!" Leaping forward, Kaneki twisted his body, throwing his strength into his rinkaku as the limbs decimated the ground, The Kakuja having turned away at the last moment.

"**Speaking of the Kirishama family, what about Touka? She's still alone, and you promised Kaneki-kun… You promised you wouldn't but you still left her…"**

Kaneki's eyes widened. The hell- There was no reason to bring this up. That was-

"**Unmoral? Don't you worry, when **_**I'm**_** in control I'll have us live far, far away from anywhere else. Who knows, she may even get eaten-**"

Letting loose a savage cry, Kaneki closed his eyes and whipped around, tentacles spraying in every direction. He felt resistance on one of them, and when he opened his eyes again he saw The Kakuja struggling to hold back the six tentacles that were pinning it to the ground.

With a cold glare, Kaneki willed the rinkaku to stab The Kakuja from underneath. While his counterpart tried to escape, his rinkaku was stronger, and The Kakuja was completely stabbed through the stomach.

"**Dammit!**" It growled, pain coursing through its body. It coughed up blood before giving Kaneki a sadistic smile. "**Nice show. But remember..**." The Kakuja paused, struggling to get up from the ground. "**I'm a kakuja. Not much can cause damage to me. And also,**" with a surge of strength The Kakuja lifted up the tentacles just enough for it to crawl out beneath and rush Kaneki, punching him back a good distance away. "**What hurts me also hurts you. Mentally, of course.**"

So that was it. He was mentally deteriorating, every bit of damage causing damage to his brain. At one point he'll die.

There was no time to think. He just 'did' it. No time to think of a fancy plan, kill The Kakuja efficiently, none of it. Kaneki was furious. He didn't really understand it; it just seemed that all of a sudden, he had this mad desire to destroy The Kakuja and everything it stood for.

Kaneki rushed The Kakuja, limbs coming down like a cage to trap his opponent, arms going around in almost a hug. The Kakuja was so terribly caught off-guard by this random turn in events, it didn't have enough time to respond.

Kaneki whispered softly to The Kakuja, "Hey, you can read my mind, right?"

"**Bastard. Letting your emotions get the better of you. Why the hell am I giving you this body anyway?**"

"Then you should know what comes next. There won't be another time, I assure you.

"**Hmph. Say hi to To-**"

Kaneki's rinkaku crushed The Kakuja, fully destroying the counterpart. Pain shot through Kaneki as well, a mental shock that made his vision go dark. It was as if he had been electrocuted.

Kaneki felt himself fall, the warm blood of The Kakuja on his skin. This was all just a bad dream, right? No sane person would have a real, bloody fight with their mental instability. That was crazy. He would wake up, work on a new way to control his kakuja, and go to bed feeling a bit closer to his goal. He didn't like being alone, no way no how, this wasn't how a human being was supposed to live…

Before drifting off into the warm embrace of darkness, Kaneki mumbled out-loud, just in-case The Kakuja heard him, "How about we have peace, now? Please?"

…It was like water, coming back into the real world. Breaking the surface of a vast lake, completely flat and nothing to disturb the water. But then Kaneki's consciousness came through, demanding passage, and the water let him go with the flow. Water isn't there to make you stop. It's there to make you stop and think.

Kaneki, however, was done thinking. There was nothing to say about it. He woke up this morning feeling whole, like a piece of the puzzle that had been missing for far too long was finally part of the set again. Complete.

The kakuja didn't come to him naturally. It actually took him a bit to summon it again. His brain felt shattered right now; the fight had left its mark, but nothing permanent. Hopefully. Maybe this time he would get that peaceful ending he always wanted.

After withstanding the mental torment this activation was throwing onto his body, Kaneki finally got the strength to summon his kakuja. It was no longer The Kakuka. It was _his_ kakuja.

The rc cells spread throughout his body, this being the first time Kaneki had been fully in control during the turn. It honestly felt nice, like a hot shower. When the mask came down over his face, it was like a magnifying glass; everything was magnified, thrown into higher contrast and better detail.

However, the kakuja was still lacking main parts. Still just a giant tail and little strands of rc cells here-and there, not much "armor" like a regular kakuja. Guess he was cursed to stay at half. Maybe he had to eat more ghouls? But he's eaten plenty already...

The second thing he noticed was how the rc cells were seeping through his skin, effecting his already well-toned muscles, giving him a complete boost in both stamina and power. When he really focused on it he could feel the blood seeping into his skull. slowly eating away at the human flesh.

Oh yeah. Kakuja's eat you up from the inside. Better not to focus on that…

The only real complaint he had about this work was how long it took to completely set itself up. Most of the time he would be using his rinkaku, at least until he was comfortable with the way the kakuja fit his body. No need to get himself killed simply because he wanted to try on some new clothes…

His next goal was, of course, to implement his rinkaku into the design so that he could use _both_ kagunes at the same time. Now _that_ would be terrifying. To the enemy, of course.

Kaneki looked at the clock. It was already pretty late; how long was he passed out? Cancelling the effects of the kakuja, he strode over to the pile of bodies and gorged himself. No need to waste, and a mental fight with a kakuja really took it out of you.

Once done, he stumbled over to his bed and promptly passed out. Again. Don't blame the guy. He was exhausted.

|\||/|

Two weeks later and Kaneki was becoming restless. Aogiri had been more active than usual, and he was starting to get worried that other ghouls were going to find out about how 'Centipede' had taken refuge in the 8th ward. Didn't want any news to hit the CCG, who believed him dead. It had been nearly a month since he had last seen Hide, and that moron was probably worried sick by now…

He didn't want to delay it any longer. His temporary training was nearly complete, and Aogiri was becoming active. Time for 'Centipede' to come back into the fray.

By now his kakuja could be activated in less time, and with less energy loss. It was strange, having control of his body after months of just letting The Kakuja do all the work.

Before walking out, Kaneki took a moment to look around. This had been a truly nice place. Yes, the multiple stains of blood and smell of flesh got to him sometimes, but overall it was a carefree place. The 8th Ward was one of the best places for a ghoul to settle, having just enough ghouls to prevent human feeding, and just far enough from any major facilities to prevent the CCG from breathing down their back.

Kaneki looked in the mirror, still surprised by what he saw. But for a different reason. Instead of having this fractured, powerful look in his eyes, he almost looked…calm. At peace with the world. He didn't see how this was possible, they were just eyes, but something still called this out for him.

There was a lot Kaneki had to thank The Kakuja for, but right now he had other priorities, some more-so than others.

He walked away, heading in the direction of the 20th ward. There were some long-awaited meetings he had to make.

|\||/|

**The Kakuja calls Kaneki '-kun' as a way to taunt and make fun of him, almost like Rize. I thought it fit well.**

**However, if you don't like the way I depicted The Kakuja, tough luck. It took me FOREVER to find a good way to describe that! Again, and I think I said this last chapter, Ishida never gave us a real definition of how the kakuja works. So I took his Haise/Kaneki haunting idea and stuck it in as a separate consciousness.**

**Not so sure if it worked, but eh. It's the best theory I've seen in my opinion. If you have any questions just PM me. I'll respond the best way I can.**

**And if there was, am I really going to admit it?**

**Final thing. I'm not going to say "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy New Year!" because I'm planning to update a new chapter between those two dates. So yeah! Be expecting that!**

**As always, flames (if any) will be ignored, and constructive criticism is always accepted fairly.**

**Cheers!**


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